Preview of 'Assassins' at Newington Mainstage

ASSASSINS is a surreal, thought-provoking, disturbing & alarmingly funny musical that lays bare the lives of nine individuals who assassinated or tried to assassinate the President of the United States. From John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald, this most American of musicals is an historical account that explores the dark side of the American experience.

Kelly Boucher appeared on WZBG's Backstage with Johnny O to discuss this "off the beaten path show" from the early 90's. She called this a "brilliant" piece that analyzes these nine individuals with some mental problems and the fact that no one listened to them. The music by Stephen Sondheim is tough to learn and not the type of songs that one leaves the theater humming. Songs include "The Gun Show," "Something Just Broke," and "How I Saved Roosevelt."

Ms. Boucher is co-directing with partner Cindy Lesser and they play "Sarah Jane Moore" and a bystander respectively. The show features a cast of seventeen. They expect that the response to this show will be mixed. The book is by John Weidman, with music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, based on an original idea by Charles Gilbert Bold. Neil Patrick Harris appeared in the Broadway premiere and played "The Balladeer" and "Lee Harvey Oswald."

The show runs June 8th—June 16th

Newington Mainstage
743 North Mountain Road
Newington, CT 06111

Coming up September 14, 15, and 16 at the Newington Mainstage will be a production of Driving Miss Daisy that was recently done at Weslyan University. The Vintage Players of Middletown presented the play Driving Miss Daisy with Carolyn Kirsch in the title role as a benefit for the Green Street Arts Center. Miss Kirsch is a veteran of 15 Broadway shows over a 21-year period of working in theatre in New York. Her many credits include: The Original Company of A Chorus Line (Theatre World Award), Chicago (for Bob Fosse), and CoCo (which starred Katharine Hepburn).

Driving Miss Daisy chronicles the relationship of an older, Southern Jewish woman and her patient, proud African-American chauffeur over a 20-year time period. The Pulitzer Prize winning play (1988) by Alfred Uhry presents a poignant, humorous, and thought-provoking look at the issues of racial biases...and the challenges of aging gracefully. The cast is rounded out by the excellent talents of Richard Nelson as "The Chauffeur," and Nat Holmes as "Daisy's son."

The movie version of Driving Miss Daisy is one of my favorites, but I have never seen the play. I hope to make it to both of these productions.